Selling Information

It’s amazing how some people get all upset when someone puts something up for sale on the web. I released a Google+ for Business LIVE webinar (that goes on Wednesday, by the way), and a few people complained that I had the audacity to charge money to educate people for two hours at the cost of $47. This kind of thing used to bug me. I’d feel really insecure if someone complained that I was putting a product up for sale, or if I were promoting something. But it doesn’t bother me any more and here’s why.

People Buy Knowledge All the Time

We buy knowledge every day. I pay a mechanic to service my car, even though that information is freely available in tons of books at the library. I pay someone to manage my website technology, even though I can do most of it myself. I pay for books. I pay for audio programs. I buy webinars and seminars. I pay to attend conferences (Okay, I don’t often pay for conferences any more, but when I do, they’re worth it!).

But for some reason, sometimes people get tweaked about it. There are lots of people who get upset when one sells something. They call you a sell-out, a shill, a grubber, and all kinds of other words.

Selling Isn’t Evil

Selling is what one does when one has something of value that someone else might want or need. I don’t consider my grocery store evil. I don’t think Amazon is evil. We buy from people every day, even if it’s not money that’s exchanged. I buy information with my attention every day. I read great blogs and watch interesting videos every single day. Don’t you?

A New Place to Learn About Building Business

I’m introducing my new project (part of Human Business Works) that addresses this. It’s called The Owner’s Mind. The premise of this project is to create a private communication channel for aspiring web entrepreneurs to learn how to build their businesses and grow their future. I’m putting into this project all my learnings (plus interviews with all kinds of people who know tons more than me.

And we’ll talk about failure, too, because failure is an oft-overlooked part of learning how to build successful web businesses. You and I? We’ll cover that. Want to get involved? Just click below to read more, and then sign up for the free weekly email. I look forward to working more with you.